A Warriors Second Chance
by Buda Knight
Summary: At the end of his life a man is chosen to carry on another's mission. Two paths are before him. Which shall he choose. Contains violance, clop, and cuss words. Rated MA.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

_Authors Note:_ _This chapter is a bit wordy. It is primarily an explanation chapter, giving a bit of back story as well as introducing you to the main character. Feel free to ask questions, I'll answer them as best I can. Also I would appreciate it if you would let me know of any grammar errors I've missed._

I was walking down electric avenue, the cold spring air flowing off the nearby lake, when I heard a woman scream from down an alley. I rushed towards the sound, my protective nature kicking in. As I rounded the corner of the alley I saw something that infuriated me. There were two men in their thirties standing over a woman who looked to be in her late teens. The men were clearly drunk and one of them had Brown hair and what I assumed to be a liqueur bottle in a paper bag. The other man was blond and had a hold of the girl's shirt and was trying to rip it off, she just kept saying;

"Nonononononono…." all the while weeping. As I processed all of this I practically growled and I tap my Bluetooth ear piece and call 911. The phone rings for a second before the dispatcher answers.

"911 what is the state of your emergency?" The dispatcher asked in a calm voice.

"I just came across two thirty year old guys sexually abusing a girl. She looks to be about 18 or 19 with auburn hair, white skin, a red shirt and a matching red ankle length skirt. One man is blond, the other has brown hair. They are both heavily intoxicated and have what appears to be an open bottle of liqueur in a brown paper bag we are in the alley off of electric avenue between the theater and the restaurant."

"Alright sir, police are on their way, please stay on the line until they arrive."

"Of course, I just have to make sure these two don't hurt her." I turn toward the two men and say;

"What do you think you are doing?!" You could clearly hear the venom in my voice.

"None of your business, now fuck off." The blonde man said in a gruff manner, I guess he was trying to be intimidating.

"I don't think so," I say with contempt in my voice. "I've already called the cops, so why don't YOU get the fuck out of here." The brown haired man gets a furious look in his eyes and yells;

"You did fucking what!? I'm going to kill you!" The brown haired man screams in pure fury. He charges at me swinging the bottle wildly. I dodge his wild swings, waiting for an opening and when I see one I reach out and grab his arm and yank him towards me. When he is in range I punch him as hard as I can in his stomach. He doubles over with the force I used, and drops to the ground. He starts throwing up violently, all the while gasping for air.

His buddy seeing this glares at me with hatred in his eyes. He punches the girl hard in the head, causing her head to snap back and slam into the wall behind her. She slumps to the ground either unconscious or dead.

"Why the hell did you do that!?" I yell at the guy, his response is so casual it makes my blood boil.

"Because I could." He then pulls out a three inch pocket knife and brandished it at me. I look at his knife and laugh, and use a classic line from one of my favorite movies.

"You call that a knife?" I reach to the sheath on my right hip and pull out my eight inch survival knife. "This is a knife." My survival knife is a custom forged duel edged knife made out of Damascus steel with 140 layers. It has a through tang ended in a hammer surface, and a serrated edge on the bottom half of one edge. It is heavy enough to chop through underbrush, yet sharp enough to cut most anything. I don't go anywhere without it. The blond man charges at me slashing as he approaches. His slashes are wild, ineffective and leave him wide open. I approach him in a balanced combat stance, ready to dodge or block his attacks. He makes a careless lunge at me, I dodge to one side and as he stumbles at the unexpected lack of resistance I slash at his wrist that holds the knife. My knife cuts deeply into his wrist severing the tendons in it causing him to drop his knife and scream in pain.

He stumbles a short distance clutching his injured wrist. When he looks back up at me his eyes are blood shot and unfocused. He runs at me throwing wide haymakers at me. I easily dodge the first two then block one of his blows and strike him full force in his jaw. I feel the bone break in his jaw as he collapses, knocked unconscious from the force of the blow added with his own momentum. As I'm panting from exertion I hear an ominous click from behind me. I turn around and see the brown haired man has gotten up and has a .38 special pistol pointed at me. I look into his eyes and see pure hatred. He repeats his earlier statement with a cold certainty.

"I am going to kill you." My blood runs cold as he levels the pistol at me. Reacting on instinct I charge at him yelling my lungs out. He is startled by my reaction and his first shot misses. He fires again and I feel a ripping and burning sensation in my stomach. I ignore the pain since I'm on an adrenaline high. He tries to fire again but I'm too close by then and tackle him to the ground. I flip the knife around in my hand so its easier to stab down at him. As we struggle he fires the gun again, and I feel the round pass through my chest. With the last of my strength I plunge my knife into his chest, piercing his heart. He gasps his last breath as I roll off him, feeling the life drain out of me. I had sirens and the shouting of the police. I weakly raise my hand as a medic runs to me. He begins to run to me but I wave him away.

"I'm dead already, help her." I say as I point to the girl slumped against the wall. He nods and runs to help her. An officer tries to ask me questions but I shake my head, barely able to do that. I struggle to reach for my Bluetooth earpiece. The cop removes it and puts it to his ear. As the 911 dispatcher fills the officer in, I begin to slowly fade, the officer seeing this says words I am glad to hear.

"You did good son, the girl will be alright and we will charge the blonde guy and lock him up. Now go ahead and rest, you've earned it." He says all this with a warm and reassuring smile upon his face. I nod and mouth 'thank you'.

"No problem kid." He pats me on the shoulder. As I fade away I think 'I'm only 24 and I'm dead, I gave my life to save another person's life. Feels…. O.k.' As I feel the last of my life ebbing away, I see a blinding flurry of colors cross my vision. When I open my eyes I see a dull grey sky, and I feel grass beneath me. I sit up and begin taking in my surroundings. I appear to be in a featureless grey plain, devoid if all life. As I get up to start looking around four figures appear from a shadow that isn't there. Two are male and two are female, each with a unique look to them.

One of the men has a Scottish Claymore planted in front of him, while he is leaning against a wooden bench with a cask on it. He acknowledges my presence by saluting me with the flagon in his hand. He's wearing an odd mix of clothing. He has a armored kilt on with plate mail greaves and metal reinforced leather boots. He's also wearing a leather jerkin underneath scale-mail armour. He has a thick jet black beard that goes half way down his chest, his arms are well muscled without being bulky. The kind you get from extended hard physical labor, like construction. But he has a warm welcoming smile a upon his bearded face, and gleefully shining green eyes.

The other man is wearing a set of jet black leather armour, it looks almost like a second skin. He has deep set steel blue eyes, with a look of calculating intelligence. His hair and short beard are silver with specks of white. He is sitting on an ebony throne with all straight lines. A feeling of power and confidence radiates from him. He is looking at me as if he can see my soul. The lady to his immediate left is wearing a flowing white dress. She has shoulder length auburn hair, a regal baring and a strip of black cloth across her eyes. She is holding a set of scales with a nimbus of blue energy on one side and a red nimbus on the other.

The woman to her right is extremely striking. She is wearing a skin tight leather corset, a plaid skirt and knee high leather boots. She has flaming red hair and bright green eyes. She has one arm linked with the lady next to her and the other is juggling a set of dice. She has a mischievous grin on her face. As I am taking in all this, the man on the throne beckons me closer. Once I am within a few feet of him he holds up his hand, and says;

"I brought you here before me because you impressed all three of my companions, something that is rarely done. Especially Karmin," he gestures at the lady with the set of scales," she isn't easily impressed." Karmin smiles and nods her head.

"Now you may be wondering why you were brought before us. It is so we can reward you. And so we can reward a being who died trying to get aid for his people who are in danger of being wiped out. We are going to give you a second chance at life, and give the fallen being's mission a second chance of being completed. The details shall be worked out by Agnossis, the gentleman to my right as well as Karmin and her sister Myridia. I shall be taking my leave, there are many tasks to complete." With that he stands up and snaps his fingers, and the throne changes into two beings. One is a skeletal figure wearing old rusted chain mail and a jet black cloak. It holds a scythe in its right hand. The other is what looks to be a Valkyrie, garbed in Nordic armour, and holding a Viking style battle axe. As the man walks away the two figures turn to follow, but the Valkyrie stops and approaches me. When she gets close enough she kisses me on my cheek. As she turns to rejoin her companion she winks at me.

I stand there stunned for a few seconds until Agnossis says,

"Those two fought tooth and nail over who got to bring you before Vorsadin. They finally decided they would both bring you before him. That has happened in the entirety of history only a few times as far as I am aware. Well done."

"Thank you."

"You are very much welcome. Now to the specifics of the reward. You shall be taking the form of a Draconian Prince by the name of Eventide Forge. He is one of the last remaining draconian royalty, and one of the few remaining draconianes left alive. His race has a duty to police and manage the were-creatures of his world. The specifics are very long, so I shall sum it up a little. An egotistical power hungry draconian wizard altered a spell, because of his twisted mind the altered spell created the first were-creatures. Very few predatory species escaped his twisted gaze. Fortunately not all became as twisted as him. The were-wolves, were-vultures and a few others became as twisted as their creator. When the clan chiefs of the various draconian clans found out what he was doing they dispatched some of their best warriors to bring him in.

His crimes were great enough that the Council of Clans, maid up of the ten clan chiefs, decided he deserved to be put to death. Upon hearing this the twisted draconian wizard cursed and raged against the clan chiefs and his fellow draconians. He then cast a cursed version of his spell. It encompassed their entire race, making them were-draconians. The spell consumed all his magic and his very life energy, destroying him completely. During this time of strife a draconian clan chief united his people in their time of need and became king. To get aid for his people he went to King Solaris of Equestria. It took several weeks but King Knight Lance of Draconia, King Solaris and Queen Aurora of Equestria found a way to alter the mad draconians spell.

The altered spell would eliminate most of the ill effects of the curse. But it was decided that the remaining ill effects, such as the forced change and the infectious bite, would fall upon the royal family to bear. Once the spell was altered King Knight lance and King Solaris formed a treaty. The draconians would monitor and police the other were-creatures, because one of their own caused them to be created. In return if Draconia ever needed aid or help, Equestria would do what it could to help its ally. This aid or help could be anything from the lending of troops, sending supplies or even lending experts in various fields such as construction, agriculture and civil engineering. After the treaty was set King Knight Lance took his leave to begin building his kingdom into what it needed to become. During the trip he discovered that he had access to all five draconian breath weapons, as well as that the forced change happens upon the new moon." Agnossis takes a deep draft out of his tankard after that extended speech.

"Now that isn't the entirety of what happened but is enough to give you some context. Now that you have some of the history know this, the campaign against the more twisted and cruel were-creatures is going badly ever since Nightmare Moon was created and banished. Her arrival heightened the strength of the twisted were-creatures. Giving them an edge against the draconian forces. In fact the war goes very poorly for the draconians at this point." A soft, whisper like feeling brushes across my thoughts drawing my attention to Karmin. She has a worried and pained expression upon her face. She gestures me closer, drawing a questioning look from her sister. Karmin nods and pats her sisters hand. Noticing the confused look upon my face Myridia says;

"She normally doesn't let men get to close to her. Or talk to anyone but me for that matter. I can guess why she is doing so now. But I will let her tell you" Karmin gestures to me again so I step closer, almost to the point I could reach out and touch. I notice her grip tighten on her sisters arm so I stop and take a small step back. She nods her thanks, and begins to talk in a soft whisper.

"The reason I am talking to you is because you is because you saved that girl from one of the worst things that can happen to a woman. And you did so without a thought, either to a possible reward or the possible danger. Even when you knew you might get shot and die you didn't think about running away, instead you charged. And as you lay dying you sent the medics to help the girl instead. You could have been saved if you hadn't sent them to help her. You are a noble man. I wish a man like you had been there for me." A signal tear falls down her cheek, seeing this I open my arms, offering a hug. She looks stunned for a moment, then breaks down and hugs me, crying silent tears into my shoulder. I hold her gently but firmly, comfortingly stroking her hair and back while whispering words of comfort into her ear. A look of surprise comes over both Agnossis and Myridia. Seeing this I softly say so as to not disturb Karmin;

"Never underestimate the power of a comforting hug. It has great healing powers." Agnossis breaks out in a grin and says;

"That's what I like about you. You can easily go from a man ready to do violence to a man who can offer comfort were needed. You are a man of action, you don't sit idly by when something must be done. That is why I recommended you to Signaisus, I felt that you would be the right choice." Myridia touches the shoulder not occupied by her sister and says;

"I recommended you because you could have just called the police and stayed out of it. In stead you took a chance to save her, risks and all. I like a guy who takes chances, you faced two to one odds and still rolled the dice. You could have given up when that man pointed a gun at you, instead you pushed your luck. I liked that so I caused his first shot to miss. You really know how to flirt with Lady Luck don't you." She winks at me and continues.

"You are also the first guy to get my sister out of her shell. I'm guessing you figured out what happened to her?" I nod my head, and Karmin holds me tighter. I resume stroking her hair.

"Well it was my fault. I got in major debt to some bad people because of my gambling. I was always good at games of luck, but I tried my hand at betting on games of skill. I sucked to put it bluntly. So when I couldn't pay my debts and couldn't find me, they went after my sister. They chocked her, beat her, abused her and finally blinded her. When they chocked her they damaged her vocal cords. She can only speak in a whisper now. And its my fault." She begins crying too and I shift Karmin to my left arm and hold out my right. Seeing this she cries even harder and practically tackles me. I rap her in my arm and start whispering in her ear.

"Its okay. It wasn't your fault. You are not responsible for others actions. You made a mistake. Does your sister blame you for what happened?" In response I get a violent head shake from Karmin and a more gentle shake from Myridia.

"Then you have to stop blaming yourself. You cant change the past, only your future. You still have your sister. Now buck up, your sister needs you." I give Karmin a gentle squeeze and say;

"She needs you too." Karmin nods, and both her and Myridia let go of me and latch on to each other. They begin to whisper to each other. I walk over to a grinning Agnossis, he offers me a tankard and I take a sip. It turns out its mead and I take a deep draft of it.

"I love this stuff. This tastes like what you can get back in Europe."

"Yep, this is made from a recipe from back before the first Viking arrived in the Americas. I miss that time."

"So anyways what are the specifics Signaisus mentioned. From the Nightmare Moon and Equestria reference I assume I'm going into the world of My little Pony Friendship is Magic?"

"Indeed you are. We assumed you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not. I've thought of what it would be like to live in Equestria. I cant believe I'm actually getting the chance to go there."

"Yep. So like Signaisus said earlier, you shall take the place of a Draconian Prince, one of the last remaining royals. He was on a mission to get aid from Princess Celestia, but was ambushed by a mix of were-wolves and were-vultures. He managed to kill or injure most of the were-vultures and kill all of the were-wolves, but his right wing was injured and a were-vulture completely broke the other wing as he attempted to escape. He fell to the ground in a wooded area and died on impact. You are going to take his place, and we are going to repair some of the damage done to his body so that you will have a fighting chance. You shall receive all of his knowledge and his powers. You will also keep most of your knowledge. We will remove most of your knowledge of Equestria, because we are sending you in just after Twilight Sparkle becomes a princess. That way you wont be tempted to alter events."

"That is reasonable, it kind of sucks, but I cant say for certain I wouldn't use my foreknowledge."

"Good. Now the wooded area that Prince Eventide Forge fell in was almost to the edge of the Everfree Forest near Ponyvile."

"Cool, some of the first ponies I'll see will be the mane six. Wait a second, wont those were-vultures still be after me as the Prince? If so the ponies will be in danger if I don't deal with them quickly. Crap."

"You are correct. Unfortunately we can not change that. It will be up to you to do what you can. Once the ladies rejoin us we will send you on your way."

"Sounds good to me." We drink a few more tankards of mead as the ladies finish talking things out. They come over and Agnossis and hand them each a tankard. They accept them and take a cautious sip. Karmin takes an instant liking to the brew and takes a large draft. Myridia doesn't like it as much as her sister so she drinks it a little slower. The ladies thank me and give me a quick hug after we finish our tankards. Agnossis stretches and says;

"Well guys, its time we get this done." They ladies nod and set down their tankards. All three of them focus on me, and a nimbus of energy surrounds me. As the glow grows brighter the ladies wave goodbye and Agnossis raises a tankard. I smile hoping I will see them again in the distant future.


	2. Chapter 2 Arrival in Ponyville

Authors Note: I changed the name because I remembered there was another story by the original name I chose. Any way this story is going to be graphic at times. That's why this story is rated MA. I intend to upload a chapter once or twice a month, depending how the creative juices are flowing.

I awake to a feeling of great pain. It feels as if my body has been run over by a steam roller. I take stock of my new bodies injures and appearance. I have multiple cuts, abrasions and bruises on a good portion of my body. My limbs, wings and tail are all working, sore but working. My scales are a deep blue like the ocean when seen from above. I have a bunch of feather like spines on my neck colored like the vibrant shades of purple and red before sunset. I have light blue spikes running the length of my spine all the way down until the tip of my tail where there is a bony section that can be changed from smooth to a spear like point if I choose. My tail and torso are both four feet long, my neck is a foot long and my head is almost a foot long. I stand five feet tall at the shoulder. I am wearing a light weight set of plate-mail and a steel helm with complex patterns of swirls and vines in silver filigree. It covers most of my head except for eye and nose holes. It also leaves my lower jaw free to open. The mail covers the sections that need to move. And the plates cover the chest, upper legs and fore legs. It has numerous holes and rents in it, but it offers more protection than not wearing it so I leave it on. I also have a sword underneath a pack. I draw it out and I practically leap for joy. It's a khopesh, my one of my favorite swords ever. I re-sheath my khopesh because it is awkward to carry in this form.

I am spreading my aching wings, preparing to fly when I hear a piercing shriek come from above. I look up and I see four were-vultures circling the small clearing I am in. I immediately take of while breathing fire at the were-vultures. They dodge away from the intense fire, giving me an opening to escape. I do a quick circle to find the nearest village, and spot one not too far away. I start heading that way when I hear the shriek again.

"You can't 'ssscape from usss that easssily, you vile lizzzard." One of the smaller were-vultures says cockily. I smirk and in response say;

"Then why haven't you stopped me yet? Hmmm? Are you afraid I'll kick your buttocks?" Two of the were-vultures, both looking fairly young and smaller than the other two, shriek in angary protest and dive at me. I smile and think 'they took the bait, awesome'. As they get closer they prepare to hit my wings to crippling me. Its obviously a favorite tactic with them. Once they are close enough I quickly roll over and fly upside down. While in this position I am more vulnerable but it also gives me a chance to put these two out of commission. I hit one of them with my lighting breath, but the other dodges. I quickly readjust my aim and breath more lightning him. And again he dodges, laughing at me. He races in closer and I spray out a small amount of poison at him, and he gets a face full. He quickly dies from the fast acting poison. After I roll back over I notice we are over the village now. 'I'm going to have to be careful, don't want innocent people to get hurt'. I feel a sudden impact on my back and I'm hurtling towards the ground. I crash hard, hard enough to send my helm flying.

I try to get up but the were-vulture that knocked me out of the sky has me pinned. It cackles at me, thinking it has won. But it forgot my tail. I can manipulate the bony ridges on tip to become a spear like point. I ram my tail-spear into the were-vulture, running him through and piercing his heart. I yank my tail-spear out and change it back. I look around and see I'm I what looks to be town square. 'Great, it will be even harder to protect the innocent now'. I hear a now familiar shriek followed by somepony screaming in fear. Dread fills me as I think of what that were-creature could be doing to that pony. I charge towards the sound and see one of my greatest fears.

The were-vulture that hung back has bitten an earth pony stallion, and didn't kill him. The corathrope, and judging bye the large crest on its head it's a male, is trying to infect this village. And if I wasn't here he would probably succeed, because I doubt these ponies know anything about were-creatures or were-folk in general. I rush towards him, but before I can close on him he shifts into his were-form. His main form is five feat long from neck to tail with an eight foot wing span. Were-vultures tend to be pretty much skin and bone. There were-form of a were-vulture are usually about a foot shorter than their man form is long, and its chest and arms are covered in dense scales like leather armour.

Seeing this I shift too, my were form is more impressive. I stand just under six feet tall, with a more humanoid shape to me. My head is pretty much the same but my neck is much shorter My natural strength is a lot more evident in this form. My plate-mail armour wasn't enchanted to shift with me so it falls off of me in pieces. 'damn there goes my armour'. The corathrope turns towards me and shrieks, showing me his two inch long razor sharp needlelike teeth. Annoyed I roar back at him imbuing it with all my power, pain, and anger. The spines on my crest flair out catching the light of the sun and cause a nimbus of light to appear around my head. The corathrope visibly pales at my display. He shakes himself and charges at me swiping at me with the claws on his hands. I draw my khopesh and deflect his strikes with the inner curve. I counterstrike with a swipe at his legs, catching one with the hook at the top of the curve and yank. This sends him off balance so I go for the kill strike.

I swing my sword powerfully at his midsection, slicing him almost in half. As he falls holding his gut, I swing the curved edge of my khopesh at his chest and it bites into him like an axe, breaking several of his ribs, but I didn't damage his heart. He screams and tries to swipe at me so I pin him with my leg and prepare to pierce his heart. I hear a sharp cry and look towards the sound. I see an alicorn with purple coloration is staring at me in horror. As I am looking at her the corathrope bites my leg and takes a chunk out of me. I scream in pain and plunge my sword into his chest piercing his heart. He goes rigid and then collapses shifting back into his animal form. I summon my helm back to me and sheathe my khopesh. I place the helm back on my head and turn to the alicorn to make introductions. She sees me in my helm for the first time and her eyes go wide seeing me for what I am.

"Are you a Draconian Prince?!" She practically screams that statement. I chuckle to myself 'oh Twilight, still the cute book worm. But I cant reveal how much I know because eventide had no knowledge of recent events after the banishment of Nightmare Moon.'

"Yes indeed I am. I am Prince Eventide Forge of Draconia. And based on the fact you are an alicorn you must be a princess but I don't recognize you. May I ask who you are? I have an urgent message from King Knight Lance to Princess Celestia. Can you…" I get cut off by a feminine scream coming from the across town I shift back into my draconian form and rocket into the sky. I cringe in pain as this aggravates my injuries, especially in my leg. The shift to my were form or drake as we call it, dulls pain received in my draconian form and I am able to ignore pain to a point. As I head towards the sound I see a bluish grey colored pegasus with blond hair being pursued by a fried looking corathrope. 'looks like that poor pony is being chased by the vulture I blasted, I've got to save her'. The pegasus is so focused on what's behind her she clips her right wing on a buildings chimney and falls to the ground. It looks like she hit pretty hard and is winded or hurt. Seeing this the vulture lands and walks to her.

"I am going to enjoy eating you, you look ssso deliccciousss." He says, his voice tinged with cruel amusement. She whimpers and curls up, trying to hide from the horrifying creature. I dive towards them as he prepares to pounce on her. Just before he reaches her I thrust my right wing in his path and he bites down on it instead. He bites just below the wrist in my wing breaking my wing-radius. I scream in pain as the rest of me slams into him, my claws raking and tearing into him. He releases my wing and shoves me off him. I place myself in front of the frightened pegasus square off with the corathrope. It is wary, having already tasted the bite of my lightning breath.

He appears to gather his courage and charges towards me. Were-Vultures are not very smart. I blast him with my frost breath, hitting him point blank with the super cooled liquid. It causes his body to crack open, causing huge wounds all over his body. He screams as I concentrate the frost to his chest, freezing it. I then spin and slam my tail into his chest. This shatters his ribs, sending shrapnel into his heart and lungs. He dies almost instantly. As I stand there panting, I hear a small sound behind me. I turn and get a better look at the pegasus mare I saved. She has bluish grey fur, a blond mane and tail and bubbles for a cutie mark. Her most striking feature is her bright golden eyes, one of them appears to be lazy. But despite the lazy eye, and maybe because of it she has a very cute look to her. As I take all this in, the adrenaline start to wear off and I can feel my injuries.

"Are you all right?" I ask the trembling mare.

"Yes, thanks to you." She responds with a quiver in her voice.

"Good." I collapse to the ground, no longer able to ignore my injuries. I take one last look at the mare I saved and as I fade into unconsciousness I say something with out really knowing why.

"You're cute." With that last thought I pass out.

I'm flying for my life away from a monstrous looking vulture, Zooming past buildings nearly hitting a few. I keep looking back to see how close the monster has gotten. All of a sudden I feel a sharp pain in my right wing as it clips a chimney I wasn't paying attention to. As I crash to the ground all I can think about is what that creature is going to do to me. When I hit the ground I get the wind knocked out of me and I land funny on my hurt wing. As I am gasping for breath I hear the creature land, I try to fly away but my wing hurts to much to move it. The creature starts talking to me, and I can hear the cruelty and hunger in its voice.

"I am going to enjoy eating you, you look ssso delicccousss." Hearing this I curl up so I wont have to look as it gets closer. All I can think about is my daughter, she is going to be all alone now. I begin to cry for the pain she will feel. I whimper out;

"I'm sorry Ditsy, mommy isn't coming home." The next thing I hear is a loud pained roar and the sound of two bodies colliding. As I look up I see a blue dragon like creature with brightly colored feathers on his head fighting the monster. The monster kicks the blue dragon in the stomach and cuts shallow furrows in his hide. The blue dragon winces and limps over to place himself in front of my. As I look closer I can see numerous injuries all over his body. He has a chunk missing from his leg, dozens of cuts and abrasions and several deep slashes. But the most serious injury is what looks like a bite wound on his wing. It hangs at a bad angle at the wrist joint. I am startled out of my staring by the monster charging at the blue dragon. The dragon takes a deep breath and then a cone of frost sprays from his mouth enveloping the monster. I look away as it's body start cracking open. Then I hear a loud smack then a tinkling thump. I look back and see the monster with its chest caved in lying on the ground.

The dragon turns to me, wincing and limping the whole while.

"Are you all right?" The dragon asks, concern heavily laced in his voice. I'm still shaking from the fear and the pain in my wing but I say.

"Yes, thanks to you." He smiles at me, a warm relieved smile.

"Good." He responds, then his legs give out and he slumps to the ground. He looks at me with out of it smile and says;

"You're cute." Then he passes out, and I'm completely stunned. This guy who risked his life to save mine and was gravely hurt in the process, thinks I'm cute? I shake my head and go look for help. I spot Princess Twilight Sparkle organizing the gathering of the bodies of the were-vultures, sending the injured earth pony stallion to the hospital and helping the village understand what happened. I rush up to her and accidently crash into her.

"Princess come quick, he's hurt bad!" I shout as we get untangled.

"Who is seriously hurt?" Asks Twilight a little grumpily from being slammed into.

"The dragon, he saved me from the monster then collapsed. You have to help him!" I say in a bit of a panic. Twilights eyes get big when I mention the dragon.

"Prince Eventide is hurt?! Quickly Derpy take me to him!" As we dash off, I cant help but think, 'he is a prince!? And he thinks I'm cute?!' when we arrive, twilight gasps at the sight of the monsters badly damaged body. It is covered in large cracks in its hide, along with its chest being caved in. Then she turns and sees Eventide Forge lying on the ground with multiple serious wounds and starts to panic a little.

"What are we going to do, what are we going to do? If he dies that would be disastrous for both Equestria and Draconia. It could ruin the treaty between our people." She keeps rambling for a bit until;

"Twilight! What in tarnation are you doin' frettin about that when we have a injured pony er dragon on our hands? Lets get him to the hospital." Applejack says, this snaps Twilight out of her rant and she has a sheepish smile.

"Your right Applejack. Lets get him to the hospital." She tries to levitate the dragon, who I now know is called Prince Eventide, but his feather like spines absorb the magic and discharge it as static. She tries again and is able to lift him a little but its taking a lot out of her. His crest discharges her magic again, and she starts panting from excretion.

"You ok there Twilight?" Applejack asks concerned at the effort its taking to lift Eventide.

"Yes, I'm fine. His draconic resistance to magic is just giving me trouble. Do you think you would be able to carry him if I lift him onto you and help support him Applejack? I can't do it on my own."

"I should be able to, I rekn'. He doesn't look too heavy." Applejack responds, weighing the unconscious Eventide in her head.

"I'll help too, I need to go to the hospital anyway. And I want to thank him for saving me when he wakes up." I say, startling the two friends.

"Sorry sugar cube, I didn't realize you were hurt too."

"Yeah I clipped my wing on a chimney while I was fleeing that monster over there. I crashed and landed funny on it and managed to wind myself. If it hadn't been for him, the monster would have gotten me. It said it was going to.. to…" I trail off choking up a little at the memory.

"Its okay sugar cube. You don't have to say it. Lets get you two to the hospital." We head out after Twilight levitates Eventide onto our shoulders. She helps keep him balanced and takes as much of his weight as she can while maintaining the spell. Once we arrive a nurse rushes out with a gurney and we place Eventide on it. We follow him in until a doctor pulls Twilight aside to ask some questions and I head to the emergency room to have my wing looked at. I sprained it pretty bad in the fall so they bind it up till it heals. Its getting pretty late when I hear a roar coming from the Recovery room. I rush off to see what's going on.


	3. Chapter 3 After the Battle

_**Authors note**_ _: If you guys would like I can write down the entirety of draconian early history, the who's, how's and why's of how the kingdom of Draconia came about and why the draconians police and manage the were-folk and were-creatures. If you want to know all that let me know, also I can write it all in a stand alone story, as a couple of chapters in this story, or just a couple of paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter from here on. Let me know what you think, PM me or leave a comment. I'll be checking daily. And I'm sorry for how long it took me to post this chapter. I was distracted prepping a different MLP:FIM fanfic._

As I awaken I sense I am not alone, nor am I outside. I feel a reasonably comfortable bed underneath me and it feels like my wounds have been tended to. I open my eyes to see myself surrounded by curious doctors and nurses, as well as a few local news reporters. I sense something is amiss and look outside the nearby window, and am shocked by how late it is. The moon will be rising shortly and it will be full, a dangerous time for that earth pony that was bitten. I must get to him quickly before he turns. A unicorn doctor, seeing that I am awake and alert steps towards me and asks;

"Now that you are awake, we have a few questions for you." His tone is slightly hostile with a tinge of disgust in it.

"I have no time for your questions. Where is the earth pony stallion that was bitten? I need to see him immediately." I respond, my tone leaving no doubts who has authority. He looks at me with contempt and says;

"I wont let a beast like you anywhere near that injured stallion. Besides you have a lot to answer for."

"I have nothing to answer for, and it wasn't a request. It was an order. I will repeat; Where is the injured stallion?" I am beginning to grow tired of this doctor. Where is Twilight when you need her.

"Who do you think you are to be giving orders, Hmmm?" The doctor says with a sneer. I look him square in the eye, my emerald irises glowing faintly with repressed anger.

"I am Prince Eventide Forge of Draconia, and any and all creatures that have been bitten or birthed by were folk or were creatures are under my authority. Now either tell me where the stallion is, or the consequences will be on your head." Everyone but the doctor take a few steps back from the tone of absolute authority in my voice. The doctor laughs, a laugh full of contempt.

"You, a prince. Don't make me laugh. You are nothing more than a beast that needs to be punished. Nurses hold him down so I can begin removing his claws." He says, his voice full of confidence and hate. The nurses look at him like he is a crazy idiot and take several steps away from him. He looks at them like they are filth.

"Fine if you cowardly pieces of shit wont restrain him I will!" He screams, and a pale red aura surrounds his horn and extends to me. It envelops me, and the doctor sneers cockily at me.

"There. Your not going any where now!" He starts to cackle, but is cut short when I shit up and lean towards him. He has a look of shock when his aura is dispelled with a crack of electricity from my crest. I then let out a roar full of power and authority right in his face. He falls over from the force of it. As he scrambles to get up, Twilight and Derpy burst into the room.

"What is going on here? Why are all of you surrounding Prince Eventide? And speaking of Prince Eventide, why did you roar just then?" Even through my frustration I cant help to let out a silent chuckle at Twilights typical barrage of questions. My thoughts returning to the matter at hand, I respond with;

"I roared Princess because this fool of a doctor tried to restrain me so he could remove my claws. He has been quite insulting since I awoke and I am about this close to incinerating him for his insolence. As well as for endangering everyone in this hospital." I say with a touch of controlled anger in my voice. Twilight looks shocked for a second then turns with a look of fury at the doctor.

"You tried to restrain and assault a member of Draconian royalty?! You are lucky he didn't kill you where you stand!" The doctor looks shocked for a second then tries to defend himself.

"But your Highness, he is nothing more than a dangerous animal who brought destruction and harm to Ponyville!"

"How dare you! If not for him this entire village would have been destroyed by were creatures. Now you two," Twilight gestures to two of the male nurses standing nearby, "make sure he does not go anywhere until I have a word with Princess Celestia." The nurses nod and take places on either side of the furious doctor. Twilight turns to me and asks;

"Now what is this danger you mentioned. It has something to do with that stallion that was bitten, doesn't it?" I nod and respond;

"Indeed it does, Princess…?" I lead off, still sticking with the fact that Eventide doesn't know her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot I didn't introduce my self. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Nice to meet you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, now as to the danger. If I don't see that injured stallion soon, he will turn with the rising of the full moon and become a were-vulture. I can prevent this, but in what form that prevention takes is up to him. Now how much longer till the full moon rises?" I respond with even tones.

"About two hours, I was just with him trying to ease his pain." She responds a sad tone to her voice.

"I thank you for trying, but the spell for that isn't known in Equestria. Now would you kindly take me to him?"

"Yes, of course. Will you need any assistance?"

"Indeed I will. My injuries prevent my from getting there under my own power."

"O.K. but I don't know if I can do it by my self. I barely managed to lift you onto Applejack and Derpy's backs last time."

"You managed to lift me while I was unconscious? You must be an amazingly strong magic user. My natural magic resistance is heightened when I am unconscious or asleep. You should have an easier time of it now that I am awake. I can lower my defenses for you." Twilight nods and lifts me with her magic, and we head to the wing of the hospital that the earth pony is in.

"So do you know why those… what do you call those creatures any way?"

"The creatures that attacked the village and me are called Corathropes or Were-vultures. There are also Lycanthropes or Were-wolves and Meso-thropes or Were-jackals. There are others but those are the ones that are a problem."4064071671

"Ah. So why were those Corathropes attacking you and the village?"

"They attacked me because I'm draconian. They attacked your village because they were what was left of an F.E.I.R. group."

"What is a F.E.I.R. group? And why would they attack you just because you are draconian? Also why did you say they were 'what was left'?" I chuckle at her barrage of questions.

"You're a curious one arnt you? F.E.I.R., which is pronounced fear, stands for Find, Eat, Infect and Raid. They are roaming groups of were-creatures looking for food or people to eat or infect with their version of the curse. They also steal everything they can get their hands on. They sometimes even use those they don't eat as slaves until they decide to ether eat or turn them. It isn't pretty. Anyways, they attacked me when they saw me because we draconians have been pretty much trying to wipe them out for millennia now. It wasn't always like that. We used to only police their actions and manage their numbers. Then they crossed a line and we went into all out war on them. For roughly the past thirty-five hundred years we have been fighting a war of eradication. Up until the last millennia we have been winning. When our beloved Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon and was banished to the moon everything changed. Nightmare Moon's dark power strengthened the were-creatures, making them our equals in strength and power. And it gave them an edge over the other were-folk. They couldn't help us in our fight anymore since they had enough trouble defending their own borders. So for the last millennia we have been the ones losing the war. It has gotten to the point were we only have five hundred soldiers left and very few civilians left. I think that we have about five or six thousand left. Most are in the capital city (I speak the name in my peoples tongue which sounds like water flowing over a waterfall and a rockslide). That translates to Fiery Heart. It can hold over eight thousand of our people, plus five thousand soldiers. It is an impressive fortress. In its heart is the castle, called Golden Citadel. It houses the royal family and our government. It has never fallen, and if it ever does all its treasures are kept in enchanted vaults. Even the great library, which rivals the one in Canterlot."

"What?! You have a bar that rivals Canterlot's? Can I go their?!" Twilight bursts out. I laugh, and notice we are almost to the wing the injured pony is in.

"Yes we do. And maybe you can, if my visit with Princess Celestia goes well. Now the reason why I said what was left because I actually crossed their path inside the Everfree forest. About in the middle, I think. Their were roughly nine were-wolves, one Lycanthrope, and ten Corathropes. Lycanthropes are pure breed were-wolves, having been born instead of turned. They are smarter, stronger and faster than their were-wolf counter parts, who are almost animals."

"Really? Why such a difference?"

"Were-wolves are created through violence, anger and blood-lust so they reflect that in their mindset." I explain patiently.

"Oh I see." Twilight has a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Anyways when I encountered them they immediately attacked me. I defended myself with a mix of magic, breath weapons, and combat techniques. I managed to kill all but the four that attacked the village. I was hurt pretty badly in the fight though. Even a draconian prince has limits." I lie slightly at the end there. No need for her to know I'm taking the dead prince's place.

"If you were injured why did you defend the village? Didn't that put you in greater danger?" She asks confused.

"Yes it did. But I couldn't let you ponies deal with this threat alone. There would have been far more casualties, both deaths and infections. You would have eventually subdued them, but that is not enough. You have to kill them." I say this with a tone of absolute finality. There is a long silence as we approach the door to the wing. Twilight looks at me with a look of sadness and worry.

"Is it always like that? Even with those who haven't turned?"

"Yes and no. If they are a were-creature, then yes. If they are turning into a were-folk no. Also if a member if the draconian royal family can get to a recently bitten victim before they turn the first time on the full moon, then they can be saved. How that happens is up to the victim." As I explain this Twilights face relaxes a little.

"That's good." She opens the door and we are immediately hit with the sound of screaming. We see the earth pony stallion surrounded by doctors and nurses, all trying to restrain him. Twilight rushes us closer and sets me down. I stand on three legs and hobble over to the bed. As I approach some of the nurses try to stop me, but step aside when Twilight says;

"Let him pass. He is the only one who can save your patient now." As the doctors and nurses move aside. I stand beside the bed of the stallion and I use my magic to bring a bed over to me. I hop up into it, freeing up my front legs. I begin a slow chant to help focus my magic, and a corona of emerald green light surrounds me. I then thrust my fore paws at the writhing stallion and he begins to calm. Once his thrashing comes to an end I release the spell and wait. I look the stallion over and see no other injuries besides the bite wound. I also notice with approval that his cutie mark is that of a field of stars with a tower. The stallion stirs and opens his eyes, the doctors begin to rush forward but I put up a shield separating the stallion and me from them.

"You are not to interfere. This is between me and him." The doctors have looks of doubt upon their faces. Ignoring them I turn to the stallion and notice a look of fear upon his face.

"Have no fear. I am here to help you."

"Help me? Why?"

"You have been bitten by a were-creature, specifically a corathrope or were-vulture. If we don't do something by the time the moon rises tonight, you will become a were-vulture yourself. If you survive the transformation."

"What?! Why?! Why is this happening to me?!" He begins to panic, his breathing accelerating, his eyes darting every which way. I place a paw upon his shoulder, and look him straight in the eyes.

"Calm down. We have time, I can save you. But you have to make a decision." As he is looking into my shining emerald eyes, he begins to calm as my words register with him. He closes his eyes and takes several deep breaths. As I see he is calming down I remove my paw from his shoulder. He looks at me with a worried look.

"What kind of decision do I have to make?" I am surprised by how calm he is. Surprised and impressed. I smile and say;

"The decision is how you would like to be saved. All I ask is that you listen to both options before you decide. And ask any questions you like."

"O.k."

"Good, let us begin. You have two choices, one will remove the cursed venom from your veins and you will remain a pony. The other option is to counter the cursed venom with my own venom. You will become a were-draconian, and you will have a knew life." As I finish everyone in the room is beginning to grasp that neither option allows for him to allow the venom to run its course.

"What will happen to me if I decide to have you remove the venom?"

"Nothing. You will go back to your life as it was before you were bitten."

"And if I choose to become a were-draconian?"

"Many things. Your body will begin to lengthen, become stronger, you will gain a breath weapon, and be able to use magic and you will grow wings. You will also have the ability to shift into a drake form, as well as a half draconian form. And upon your first new moon you will get to choose if your pony form or your half draconian form shall be your permanent form. I can explain all the specifics later. But I must warn you. If you choose to become a were-draconian, you shall no longer be a citizen of Equestria. You shall be a citizen of Draconia and will be treated accordingly. You shall receive training in your chosen field as well as in your special talent until you are one hundred years old. BUT…" At this everyone jumps at the sharp tone in my voice. "you will receive military training as well. And you will serve at least one thousand years in the military." The stallion is shocked, then his expression turns to one of confusion.

"How old do draconians live?" I nod at the question.

"That is a good question. Depending upon which form you choose you will live anywhere from three to six thousand years." As I say this his eyes get bigger and bigger.

"That sounds like a win-win situation." He says with a smile until I shake my head.

"It is both a blessing and a curse." I say with a grave tone, a look of sadness in my eyes.

"How so?" He asks with his head cocked to the side.

"You will out live all the ponies you care about. All your family, friends acquaintances, ponies you have known your entire life will age and fade away. All the while you will remain mostly the same, having to watch as every one you care about passes on. But on the other hand you will be able to watch over their children, and their children's children. You will be able to share your memories of your friends who have passed with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But you will not be alone in your long life. There are many other draconians, both were-draconians and full draconians. And your were-draconian nature will not stop you from having children of your own. If you find a draconian mate you can have hatchlings, if you find a mare to love you can have fillies and colts."

"That is a lot of information to process."

"Indeed it is." I turn to Twilight and ask; "How long till moon rise?" She checks a clock out side the room and says;

"About an hour."

"Thank you, Twilight." I turn to the stallion. "You have half an hour to decide. Think over what we have discussed, I will abide by what ever decision you make." He nods and I look over at Twilight. She understands and lifts me off of the bed I am resting on and takes me a distance away from the infected stallion.

"That was a lot of information you just gave him. Do you think he will be able to process it all in half an hour?" She says with a worried look.

"Not likely. But he needed to hear all of it. Leaving anything out now could lead to resentment down the road. I have seen it happen, and the results are never pretty." She nods and looks at me curiously.

"How old are you?" I laugh at the question, and Twilight looks confused.

"What's so funny?" She asks with a curios expression.

"I was wondering what your first question was going to be and I didn't think that would be it." We both chuckle a little.

"To answer your question Twilight I am two thousand, two hundred and eighty one years old." She has a shocked look upon her face, then blurts out.

"You are over two thousand years old? You seam barely older than me." I chuckle at her reaction.

"I am indeed, I am the youngest of the royal family with my father being the oldest at around nine thousand years old." This news makes Twilights jaw drop.

"I thought you said draconians only live for at most six thousand years? How could your father be that old? How long do royal draconians live?" I have a huge grin on my face, which confuses Twilight. I am loving being able to witness for myself her inherent curiousness.

"Non-royal draconians live three to six thousand years because were-draconians some times live to only three thousand years and full draconians have a natural lifespan of four to six thousand years. My father was around two thousand years old when he became king and formed a treaty with King Solaris. As for how long a Royal Draconian lives, we don't know. A royal draconian hasn't yet died of natural causes."

"S..S…So you could be as immortal as the princesses?" She stammers.

"Maybe, we just don't know. We can still be killed so we arnt truly immortal, but we also don't know how long we live. We are the first royal draconians in history. Now I can answer all your other questions later, I believe we should check the time." After confirming that a half hour had passed, Twilight once again carried me to the bed next to the stallion. He noticed our approach and straightened up a little.

"Have you made your decision?" I ask with a neutral tone. He nods and says;

"Yes I have."

"What have you decided?" He takes a deep breath and lets it out. He looks me in the eye and says with a steady voice.

"I would like to become a were-draconian." The doctors and Twilight all gasp a little, for they have heard all that I have said. They know what he is giving up. I smile warmly at him, and place my right paw upon his shoulder.

"Very well, let us begin. Extend your front leg please." As he does so a slight worry comes into his expression.

"Do not worry, this wont hurt nearly as badly as your first bite. It will hurt a little as my teeth pierce your hide, but it will feel like you cut yourself on a sharp rock rather than being bitten by a wild animal. Also my venom will feel like a medicinal balm, stinging a little but once it meets the venom of the Corathrope it will feel like a soothing balm compared to the roaring inferno you felt before."

"Thank you for telling me. I know what to expect now. Alright, lets do this." He holds out his right foreleg and closes his eyes, not wanting to see me bite him. I nod and place his foreleg in-between my jaws. I quickly but gently bite down on his limb, feeling some of my venom flow through my canines into his blood stream. As I release his leg, my spell suppressing his pain starts to fade, and he begins to feel all the pain he felt before. He begins to groan in pain but it isn't neatly as loud as before. He looks at me as he lays down and nods, then grimaces as a wave of intense pain flows through him.

"You were right. I can feel the difference in the two venoms." He says with his voice laced with pain.

"It shouldn't be long now." The stallion nods his head, then gasps as he feels a burning sensation at his wound and sees what looks like sickly green smoke coming out of the wound. I immediately use my magic to capture the smoke (which is actually the vapor form of the venom, and then I use my lightning breath weapon to create plasma to incinerate it.

"The corathrope venom is out of you now." The stallion smiles.

"Does this mean its over? I'm a were-draconian now?"

"No. This next part is when you become a were-draconian. And I have to warn you, it will hurt. Your wings will grow and your body will be altered slightly. You will paws were your front hooves are now, you will have omnivores teeth and your eyes shall become like mine and other draconic creatures. You shall grow taller and broader, gaining strength to rival the strongest earth pony. Also we will discover your breath weapon. Now brace yourself." The stallion nods his head and tenses up waiting for the pain.

"By the way, what is your name?" I ask him, smacking myself for not asking earlier.

"My name is Night Watch." I nod at him with a smile.

"That is a good name." As I finish my sentence, Night Watch lets out a piercing cry of agony. He starts to writhe on the bed, thrashing about with enough force to cause his bed to shake and jump. The doctors and nurses start to rush forward but I hold up my right foreleg to signal them to stop.

"You can do nothing for him, only get in the way and possibly get injured. This process is painful but short lived, he will be fine in a minute or two." They nod their understanding and back up. I turn my attention back to Night Watch and see that his wings are starting to sprout and his form is stretching and widening. I also notice that his clenched teeth are being changed into omnivore teeth. I cant see his eyes but one or both of them should be changed by now. His cries of pain begin to diminish in intensity as his wings finish growing. Once his wings stop growing his jaws fly open and a burst of lighting shoots out. I contain the lightning in a shield bubble and dissipate it. Night Watch slumps down in exhaustion from the ordeal. I place a paw upon his shoulder, smiling warmly at him.

"Welcome to the clan, Night Watch. Get some rest, we leave for Canterlot tomorrow morning." He looks to me and nods, panting slightly.

"You got it sir." He then quickly falls asleep. I chuckle and turn to the doctors.

"I leave him in your capable hooves." The doctors nod and approach Night Watch to check his vitals and the wound on his side. I turn to Twilight and tell her;

"I'll be staying in here to keep an eye on him. Good night, Princess Twilight Sparkle." She nods, smiling a tired smile.

"Goodnight Prince Eventide Forge." She walks away, and I cast a quick spell to alert me if anything was to happen. 'I wonder how things will go tomorrow?' I then lay my head down and drift off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4 Journey to Canterlot Palace

p style="text-align: left;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"emstrongAuthors Note:/strong/em/span emI'm sorry for the long wait. I've been in a bit of slump lately. But some good has come of it, I have ideas for two new stories I will be writing and posting soon. And now without any further a dew, the next chapter of A Warriors Second Chance!/em/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"As I awaken from my somewhat restful sleep I can hear several female voices holding a hushed conversation near by. I crack my eyes open and look around, being careful to appear asleep. I spot Twilight and five other ponies I recognize as the rest of the main six clustered near Night Watch. I chuckle to myself, emI still can't believe I am actually here, this will be a grand adventure/em* I sit up on the bed and shake my head vigorously, to finish waking up. My movement alerts the girls that I am up and they come over to greet me. As I expected, Pinkie Pie is the first to reach me. As she practically tackle hugs me while bouncing, I get hit with her onslaught of words./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""HiI'mPinkiePiewhatsyourname?Ibetit' ?Iloveparties,I'mthepremierpartyponyinallofPonyville." As she pauses to take a breath I try to get a word in edge wise./p  
p style="text-align: left;""Hello Pinkie Pie, my name is Prince Eventide Forge. And yes, I like parties." Hearing this she gets a big grin on her face and starts bouncing around everywhere talking a mile a minute about planning a party for me. I turn to her friends, "She's a hyper one isn't she?" The girls all laugh and say;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""That's our Pinkie Pie for you." Twilight steps forward and begins introducing her friends. She gestures to Applejack and says;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""This is Applejack, she works at Sweat Apple Acres with her family." Applejack nods her head ands says;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Howdy." Twilight continues down her line of friends, pointing as she names each one./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""The pony next to her is Rarity, she owns Carousel Boutique and is a well known fashionista." Rarity throws her hair back and eloquently says;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I'm charmed to meet you."/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Next to her is Fluttershy, she cares for the local animals at her cottage." Fluttershy meekly mumbles what sounds like a hello. "You have already met Pinkie, she works and lives above the local bakery Sugarcube Corner. And floating above you is Rainbow Dash is a member of the weather team here in Ponyville." Rainbow Dash gets in my face and practicly yells;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Yep I'm the fastest flier in Equestria, I heard you were prity damn fast when you flew off to rescue Derpy. Want to race?" She finishes excitedly. Applejack groans and bites Dash's tail pulling her away from me a bit. Rainbow Dash gives Applejack a grumpy scowl and pulls her tail out of her mouth. I chuckle slightly seeing them act like that. I look at Rainbow Dash and reply;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I wish I could miss Dash, but it will be awhile before ill be flying again." Rainbow Dash gives me a disappointed look,/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Awww, why is that?" She asks./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Because one of the creatures, he called them Were-Vultures, bit his wing joint crushing it when he stopped it from biting Derpy. The doctor said he was lucky he has scales, otherwise the were-vulture would have bitten off the wing." All the girls eyes go wide at hearing that. I turn to the side a little, showing them the massive amount of bandages that is my wing. They then take in the vast array of bandages covering me, protecting the various cuts, abrasions and other battle damage. Their eyes are drawn to my second most painful injury, the large bite wound on my right hind leg. A good sized chunk is missing from my Gastrocnemius muscle (basically my calve)./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Oh my, that looks simply awful, however did you receive such a wound." Rarity asks with a stunned expression./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I was about to finish off one of the Corathropes, or were-vulture as they are commonly called, when I was distracted by a gasp behind me. Princess Twilight stumbled upon the scene and was understandably frightened, I paused to answer her question and introduce my self when the beast took a bite out of my leg which I was using to pin him down on the ground while I dispatched him. After he bit me I quickly pierced his heart with my sword, killing him." The girls all grow pale at that description. Applejack recovers and looks at me with a puzzled expression./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Did you get that wound before or after saving Derpy?" She asks./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Before." Rainbow Dash jumps in at this point and blurts out;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Waitwaitwait. You flew off to save Derpy after an injury like that? How?"/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Indeed I did. It is the duty of all draconians to defend others from were-creatures, especially Royal Draconians such as myself. As for how, in my two thousand and eighty years of military service I have received many wounds such as the ones I bear now. I am trained to ignore pain when necessary, nothing will stop me from doing my duty except death." emAnd I've knocked on Death's door twice just to flip him the bird/em. All the people in the room with us are staring at me with a look of awe. Some for my age and military service, others from hearing how many times I've been injured. And still others from the conviction and strength in my voice and bearing. Rainbow Dash shakes her head and says;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""That definitely makes you twenty percent cooler." I chuckle at her use of her catch fraise./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Thank you, miss Dash. Now it is time me and Night Watch to get going. I have a message to deliver to Princess Celestia, and I cant tarry any longer. Princess Twilight were are my things?"/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I stored them at the library, I'll go get them." Twilight leaves to get my khopesh, backpack and my helm./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Thank you, now lets see if I can shift to make it easier to move about." I focus on shifting my form, being careful to do it slowly to not aggravate my injuries. The girls and Night Watch all stare in awe as I slowly shift into my drake form. As I finish shifting I use my magic to teleport to large branches to me and shift their form into crutches. As I fit them under my shoulders in preparation to hop off the bed Rarity asks;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""What is that you are wearing around your flank darling? It doesn't seam to be something a royal would wear." I let out a short bark of a laugh, amused at her question./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""It is a leather and chainmail loincloth. When I shift to this form a certain part of my anatomy is no longer hidden. The loincloth is used to both protect and hide that part of my anatomy." The girls all blush at hearing this./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Oh my, well that's … interesting." Rarity says with an embarrassed tone to her voice. Night Watch looks at me and asks;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""When will I be able to shift form like that?"/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""That is a good question, you will be able to shift into your drake form, which is the form I am in now, after some training. But you are able to turn into your half-draconian form now. Just concentrate and look for a part of your mind that seams different from the rest. Once you find it imagine your mind enwrapping this new part of your mind." I see Night Watch close his eyes and shortly after he starts emitting a dim glow. "Good. Now I want you to make this new section entwine its self with the rest of your mind until you cant tell were the old begins and the new ends." The glow around him intensifies and then blinks out of existence. All the girls gasp, Twilight having rejoined us just as the glow brightened, seeing a changed being in front of them./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Open your eyes Night Watch and look upon your new form." I say with a smile on my face. As Night Watch open his eyes he gasps at seeing his fore legs covered in scales, as he continues looking at himself he notices that his entire body is covered in scales all matching his original coat color of cobalt blue. His tale is replaced with that of a draconian and his mane has changed to feather like spines colored midnight blue with random silver spines making his mane look like a field of stars. He doesn't have the tail spear like I do. His head has transformed into a dragon head with pony ears. His eyes are silver with a black draconic pupil. His hind legs have also changed to have paws instead of hooves./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I look awesome!"He says with a excited gleam in his eyes. I chuckle at his enthusiasm;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Indeed you do. And you can now shift between either your were-draconian or you half-draconian form at will. We will begin your training after I deliver my message to Princess Celestia."/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I just have one more question, how long can I stay in this form?"/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""As long as you like, although you will have to change back to your were-draconian form when we reach the castle." I say while finally standing with the help of my crutches. Night looks at me with a confused expression;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Why?" he asks. I hobble over to him and put a paw on his shoulder./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Because it is considered a battle form to people in the know about Draconian culture. The only reason I am in my drake form is because I cant move around all that well in my other form right now." He pauses to think then looks me in the eye./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""That makes sense. I guess its time to go now."/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Yep." I hobble over to Twilight and retrieve my belongings. I carefully place my backpack on my back then place my khopesh in its sheath attached to the pack. After I place my helm upon my head I look to the mane six;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Lead the way ladies, I have no clue how to get to the train station." They laugh a little and we head out. After we arrive at the train station we begin the long trek to Canterlot. The girls begin to ask me questions about my life./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Darling what's fashion like in Draconia?" Rarity asks./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Unfortunately for the last couple centuries we haven't had much of a fashion industry. We have been fighting a losing war."/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""That's simply dreadful." She says with a dreary look upon her face. I don't know if its because of the losing war or the lack of fashion. Or both./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Ooh ooh do you have parties?" Pinkie boisterously asks./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Some. Most are either when a egg is laid, a hatchling hatches, a draconian reaches adulthood at 100, or when someone passes on. That last one has become more frequent this last millennia." Pinkie's hair deflates and all her energy leaves her./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Oh, that's just… just so sad." She says and begins crying./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Don't be sad Pinkie. We Draconians believe in reincarnation. When we pass on from this life, we go on to live a new life as something else. Our parties for the departed are not to lament their death, but to celebrate their life and to lend our wishes that they will be happy in their next life." She perks up at hearing this, and her hair reflates. Rainbow Dash rushes forward into my face and says excitedly;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Do you have any competitions, like racing?" I shake my head with a smile, I knew she was going to ask that./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""We do actually, we hold competitions to see who is the best archer, best at melee combat, best spell caster, and who has the strongest breath weapons. We Royals are naturally the judges and referees." Rainbow Dash cocks her head to one side;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Why don't you guys compete?" I chuckle and say with pride;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""We Royals are stronger, faster and have more magical power than regular draconians because we took on the brunt of the curse laid upon our people. I wont go into the specifics of that because it is a long story. One day I will tell you it." Dash Nods her understanding. Twilight then asks;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""What do your people study?" everyone else groans at that question, I just smile./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""For the last thousand years we have studied our opponents, for weaknesses and strengths. We have studied better ways of healing, both magical and natural. We have improved our knowledge of metals and alloys. And have created better shields spells and deadlier combat spells." Twilight ponders my answers for a moment then says./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""It seams as if your lives are dominated by war." With a sad chuckle I respond;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Indeed they are. We have no choice. It is either that or die out." All the girls look upon me with saddened expressions. Fluttershy meekly asks;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""H-how do you live like this?" All the girls agree with her with nods. Night Watch is listening carefully to my every word./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Easily. We live for our loved ones. Our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters. Our comrades in arms, our mates and husbands or wives. And our children. We fight every day to make sure they can live as happily as they can." They all look at me with expressions filled with happiness. None more so than Night Watch upon hearing of his new peoples commitment to each other./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Do you have any special pony back home?" Applejack asks./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Yes I do. My wife Spring Shepherd. We have a hatchling named Summer Song and an unhatched Royal egg. They are the light of my life, and the reason I continue to fight." I smile happily at the memories Eventide Forge gifted to me of his family. The girls all smile happily for me./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""That's great sugarcube, but why did you say an unhatched royal egg?" Applejack asks./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Because my wife is a common draconian and not another Royal. So we can have eggs that will hatch to be common draconians or Royal eggs that will hatch Royal Draconians. " As I finish explaining this the train comes to a stop, we have arrived at Canterlot. Twilight gets up and says;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""All right we are here, lets head to the castle." We disembark the train, and start heading up the main thoroughfare to the castle. About half way to the castle I look at Night and say;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Its time for you to shift back. I'll be shifting back when we reach the throne room." He nods and starts focusing, and with a flash turns back into his were-form. We then proceeded to the castle, gaining many a strange and sometimes fearful look from the high class ponies of Canterlot. I ignore them, being used to stares, but Night gets unnerved by all the stares and visibly cringes. Without looking I say;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Stand tall Night Watch. You are a draconian now, you have nothing to fear from these snooty ponies. You are stronger, faster, and have access to more magical power than any of them could hope to have. Be proud of what you are now, just don't let it go to your head." Night watch perks up a little at what I said. As I finish my speech we arrive at the gate separating the palace grounds with the rest of Canterlot. The gate guards cross their spears in front of the path;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Halt! State your names and purpose for coming here!" The pegasus guard on the left barks out. The two guards look at me and Night with distrust and some disgust. Twilight is confused at the guards reaction to me and Night. /p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I am Twilight Sparkle, this is Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. We represent the elements of harmony. The gentlepony standing upright is Prince Eventide Forge of Draconia. And the stallion next to him is Night Watch, who is a were-draconian. Prince Eventide is here to deliver a message from his father to Princess Celestia an…" Twilight begins to explain but is interrupted be the unicorn guard on the right./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""These things think we will let them get any where close to royalty? Yeah right, these disgusting creatures don't even deserve to be in the same city as our beloved Princess. Now get out of my sight before I run you through." He says his voice dripping with condescension and venom. Twilight and the girls gasp at hearing him say that. Night Watch looks pissed and is about to lunge at the guard when I put a steadying hand on his shoulder. Twilight steps forward and lays into the guard./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""How dare you say such things about Prince Eventide and Night Watch. I have never met such a rude and ignorant guard. I am going to have a talk with Princess Celestia about this." She says with outrage tinging her voice. The guard just gets an evil look on his face and chuckles while leveling his spear./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Not if I kill you and your friends first." He lunges forward at Twilight and tries to stab her in the chest. Before I can react, Night Watch leaps forward and shifts into his half-draconian form. The spear tip hits his upper chest leaving a shallow gash from going from the front of his right shoulder almost to his wing joint. His tough scaly hide stopped the spear from doing much damage. Night Watch growled at the pain and instinctively unleashed a blast of his lighting breath at the guard. The guard tries to dodge but gets hit in the right shoulder, causing him to drop his spear. He unsheathes the short sword at his right side with his magic and tries to slash at Night with it. Night blocks the attack with his right paw, the sword doing no damage due to the tougher scales on his paws and forelegs. He counter strikes with a swipe of his left paw at the unicorn guards head, causing deep tears in the metal and the guards right cheek. The guard bellows in pain and starts wildly swinging his short sword, following no pattern or technique. Night dodges most of the swings and blocks the ones he cant with ease. He finally has enough and grabs the short sword and rips it out of the guards magical grasp and tosses it to me. I easily catch it and use my magic to melt it into slag. I then turn my attention back to the fight./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"Night Watch and the unicorn guard are circling each other, the guard with a expression of pure hate and Night with a look of concentration. I see the guard looking for a weapon, but finding none. I chuckle, drawing confused looks from the worried girls. /p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Why are you laughing?" Applejack says angrily./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Because Night is in his half-draconian form. Remember how hard it was for Twilight to lift me magically when I was hurt?" Applejack nods, remembering how much it took out of Twilight. "Well she was only able to do it at all because of how strong she is magically. We draconians are resistant to magic, especially when incapacitated. While levitation spells and combat spells are very different the effect is the same. And all that idiot guard has left to fight with are his hooves and his magic." The girls all have understanding looks on their faces. We all turn our attention back to the fight and see that it had continued while we talked. The guard has a several deep dents in his armour and some gashes where Nights claws had managed to pierce his opponents armour. Night has some small cuts and several bruises on his forelegs and chest, but nothing major. /p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"The guard fired a beam of destructive energy at Night, who had no time to dodge. It struck him in the chest and pushed him back a few feet. But his mane sparked with a discharge of energy and the spell dissipated without harming him. This infuriated the guard who started firing blast after blast at Night. Night realizing that the spell had no effect on him started walking towards the enraged unicorn, shrugging off the destructive blasts. His mane was almost constantly discharging energy causing the feather like spines to move and appear to alternately darken and lighten. It made for an impressive display as it made his mane look like the real night sky./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"When Night was close enough he spun around and bucked the unicorn. This caused the guard to go flying with huge rents in his armour from Nights three inch rear claws. When he hit the ground he groaned blood flowing from the large wounds in his chest. He struggles to his hooves and glared at Night Watch, who did something that made me very proud of him. In a neutral tone of voice he said;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Yield, you can not win this fight. Yield now or you will reap what you have sown." The guard growls and charges at Night, Night sighs and stands his ground. When the guard gets close enough Night hits him with all of his strength in the head, causing a sickening crack to be heard along side the sound of metal crumpling. The guard flops to the ground a dozen feet from Night and doesn't get back up. Night walks up to the fallen guard and checks to see if he is alive or not. With a satisfied grunt he walks toward Twilight./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Are you and the girls alright Twilight?" He asks in a worried tone. All the girls are staring at him from the display of power. She nods, then her eyes drift to the long gash on his right shoulder. Her eyes widen and her pupils shrink when she remembers that the spear thrust was meant for her. She realizes that she would have likely been killed from that blow. She collapses upon the ground and starts crying uncontrollably. Acting out of instinct Night lays next to her and holds her to his chest, his wings wrapping around her in a comforting cocoon. She cries into his left shoulder, griping him tightly around the waist. He makes soothing sounds and rubs her back and mane./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Its okay, I've got you. It'll be okay. I wouldn't have let him hurt you. Your alright." He says in a calming voice while nuzzling the top of her head. She starts to calm down and pulls away from him a little./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Th-thank you for s-s-saving my life." She says while stuttering from the shock. Night smiles at her, a warm tender smile that makes her blush a little./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Your welcome Twilight. I couldn't let him hurt you. I care about you, and couldn't bear the thought of you being harmed." Twilight's face is awash with dozen emotions./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""You care about me? How?" Night chuckles at her question./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I've liked you for a while now, ever since I met you at your welcome to Ponyville party. You are so brave and kind, willing to help anypony." Twilight blushes at my compliment a look of wonder on her face./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Really? Why didn't you say anything to me?" He sighs and closes his eyes./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Because I was afraid. You are this beacon of hope and friendship, a mare who everypony looks to for help." She looks at him with a open mouthed stare, shocked at his words./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""And it doesn't help that you are so darn cute especially when you have your nose buried in a book, oblivious to the world." Twilight blushes harder, a small smile on her face./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""You think I'm cute?" She says with an embarrassed tone. Night opens his eyes and gazes into hers, a look of certainty upon within his silver orbs./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Indeed I do Twilight. Indeed I do." Twilights eyes sparkle when she hears him say that. She leans forward and kisses him on the lips, shocking both herself and Night Watch. They break apart when they hear Rarity giggle and Dash gag. Twilight giggles embarrassedly, and Night blushes. I chuckle at the to and decide to tease them a little. I clear my throat to draw everyone's attention and say;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""By the power invested in me by my royal blood, I now pronounce you Mare and Drake." As I finish Twilight and Night blush furiously, she hides in her mane and he uses one of his wings to hide his face. I notice that he keeps the other wing wrapped around Twilight and uses it to protectively draw her closer. The rest of the group burst out laughing, this scene having lifted the grim air of the fight. /p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Oh by the way Night, don't switch back until be get that wound looked at. It will be much worse in your pony form." Night lowers his wing a little and nods at me. I then notice a guard in the gold armour of the Royal Guard with purple trim approaching. Takes a quick look at the scene and asks;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Now what happened here? One of my guards told me that a monstrous creature was fighting his partner. All I see is two draconians both the worse for wear and a dead guard. Would anypony care to explain." I start to say something but get preempted by Twilight standing up./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Oh Princess Twilight I didn't see you." He bows to Twilight before straightening. "Can you tell me what happened here?" Twilight nods and says;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Yes I can Captain. Me and my friends along with our draconian companions approached the gate. A pegasus guard asked us to identify ourselves and state our intent. I explained that Prince Eventide Forge, who is the draconian with the bandages had a message for Princess Celestia. The unicorn guard who is lying over there insulted Prince Eventide and threatened to run us all through if we didn't leave. I was berating him for his conduct and told him I was going to take the matter to Princess Celestia. He said not if I kill you and your friends and tried to stab me with his spear. I likely would have been gravely injured if Night Watch, the one draconian right next to me, hadn't jumped in front of me and taken the blow himself. The two proceeded to fight until Night Watch was clearly going to win, when he gave the guard the chance to yield. When he refused Night Watch struck him in the face, killing him." The Royal Guard Captain pondered this lengthy explanation for a minute then said;/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""I'm deeply sorry that one of my guards acted like that, I'm even more ashamed that he tried to kill you Princess Twilight. And don't worry, nothing will happen to Night Watch. He reacted in your defense and the guard would have been charged with treason and faced execution anyways for attempting to kill a member of Royalty. I will deal with the traitors body and punish his partner for not stopping him and for lying to me." He says, clearly angry about all this./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;""Thank you Captain." He nods and walks away. "Now I believe we have been delayed long enough. Lets head in and meet with Celestia." We all agree and begin walking to the palaces front door, with Twilight and Night leaning against each other with a wing wrapped around each other./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"emstrongAuthors Note/strong/em/spanem: Once again sorry for the long wait. But I believe that this chapter more than makes up for it. Anyways I originally intended to have the meeting between Eventide and Celestia in this chapter but I thought it was getting a bit long. And it would have ruined the happy mood I wanted this chapter to end with. Why that would have happened you will find out next chapter. On a side note I will be posting one or maybe two more new MLP: FIM stories soon so be on the lookout for them. On that note I bid you adieu. /em/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p 


End file.
